NOTTINGHAMSHIRE V SURREY at Trent Bridge (SSCC1), 10-13 APRIL 2016
Whether by default or design,
Surrey's curtain-raiser harks back to early days of the County
Championship, which was first placed on a formal footing in 1890.
Surrey won five out of the first six titles and in four of those years
they got under way at, wait for it, Trent Bridge. Could it be an omen?
In the two seasons Surrey have
been absent from Division One, Notts finished fourth (in 2014) and third
(last year), notching up six wins in each. Indeed, they finished last
summer as the form side, with five of their championship victories
coming in the second half of the campaign.
Looking at the squad
Nottinghamshire have announced, funny, but it seems as if Surrey and
Notts have been separated for longer, such is the number of
little-known faces in the Trent Bridge outfit's line-up. For instance,
they now have two Taylors (three and they'd be Duran Duran). Brendan
Taylor, a veteran of 23 Tests for Zimbabwe, averaged 34.14 with the
bat in the champo last year; which was a combination of foul and
famine for the 30-year-old opener, who chipped in with three hundreds
- two in April, against Middlesex and Hampshire, and a valiant 152 in
the defeat at Taunton in June.
The new faces, from Surrey's
perspective, in the Outlaws' attack are Brett Hutton, a 23-year-old
seamer, who, in just a dozen first-class appearances has taken 43
wickets at an average of 25.83; not to mention his 423 runs with the
bat at 26.43. Then there's Jake Ball, 25, who rose to prominence last
summer (with 39 championship wickets at 28.74 apiece) and Luke Wood, a
left-armer who continues to knock on the door.
Notts' new overseas, Jackson Bird, a tall wicket-to-wicket
quick from Tasmania, is set to make his
debut for the county just a month after
bagging a career best 7-45 against New South Wales.
The Trent Bridge outfit will be
an even more formidable opponent when Alex Hales and Stuart Broad are
available, but, it won't all be plain sailing for Surrey over the next
four days with the likes of Gurney, Patel, Read, Wessels and James
Taylor around.
Tom Curran starts the championship season with 99
first-class career wickets, while Matthew Dunn, if he plays, is just
four behind with 95. Steven Davies has 9,955 f-c runs. For Notts,
Brendan Taylor (7,449 runs) is closing in on 7,500 first-class and
Harry Gurney goes into this contest with 192 f-c wickets. Steven
Mullaney is just one scalp away from a 50th wicket in first-class
cricket and Samit Patel is only five shy of a 250th.
The inclusion of Ravi Rampaul has confounded those pundits who
viewed the 31-year-old West Indian as a one-day / T20 signing;
presumably on the basis that he hasn't played first-class cricket for
nearly three years. The fourth seamer's spot appears to be for Rampaul
and Matthew Dunn to argue over. Similarly, the decision as to who gets
the wicketkeeping gloves will be between Ben Foakes and Gary Wilson.
OPPONENT |
DATE |
RESULT |
VENUE |
SURREY |
OPPONENT |
Northamptonshire |
22-25 Sep 2015 |
Match Drawn |
The Oval |
410 & 125-5 |
110 & 514 |
Lancashire |
14-17 Sep 2015 |
Match Drawn |
Old Trafford |
480 & 283-7d |
272 & 195-7 |
Derbyshire |
1-4 Sep 2015 |
Won By An Inns & 98 Runs |
The Oval |
560 |
313 & 149 |
Gloucestershire |
21-24 Aug 2015 |
Match Drawn |
Bristol |
349-6 |
233 |
Essex |
7-10 Aug 2015 |
Won By 3 Wickets |
Colchester |
346 & 314-7 |
369 & 289-9d |
When making predictions, particularly at this time of the year, my
first thought is to check the weather forecast which, unfortunately
for those fans who have booked three nights in Nottingham, suggests
days two and three will be lucky to escape the rain. So, everything
points to a clamour for bonus points. Assuming the Currans and Mark
Footitt make the most of the early season swing Trent Bridge
invariably offers up in April, the key man for me is Steven Davies,
who limbered up for the new campaign by hitting 115 and 109 against
Loughborough MCCU. Expect a draw.
B.Taylor, S.Mullaney,
M.Lumb, J.Taylor, R.Wessels,
S.Patel, C.Read
(capt, wk), B.Hutton,
J.Ball, H.Gurney and J.Bird.
David Millns and Tim Robinson. Of the joint total
of 18 County Championship games involving Surrey, in which Millns and
Robinson have officiated, just three have been won by Surrey.
Combined leg-before-o-meter: 19.3% of dismissals.
DATE |
RESULT |
VENUE |
TOSS |
DECISION |
SURREY |
NOTTS |
8-11 Jul 2013 |
Match Drawn |
The Oval |
Surrey |
Bat |
198 & 395-8d |
410 |
15-18 May 2013 |
Lost By 114 Runs |
Trent Bridge |
Surrey |
Field |
207 & 144 |
274 & 191 |
4-7 Sep 2012 |
Won By 195 Runs |
The Oval |
Surrey |
Bat |
269 & 304 |
227 & 151 |
18-21 Jul 2012 |
Match Drawn |
Trent Bridge |
Surrey |
Field |
252-6 |
328 |
17-19 Sep 2008 |
Lost By An Inns & 143 Runs |
The Oval |
Surrey |
Bat |
267 & 122 |
532 |
11-14 Jul 2008 |
Match Drawn |
Trent Bridge |
Notts |
Field |
403 |
218 & 372-6 |
26-29 Jul 2005 |
Match Drawn |
Trent Bridge |
Surrey |
Bat |
136 & 292-6d |
226 & 169-8 |
6-9 May 2005 |
Lost By An Inns & 71 Runs |
The Oval |
Surrey |
Bat |
217 & 404 |
692-7d |
13-15 Aug 2003 |
Won By An Inns & 211 Runs |
Whitgift School |
Surrey |
Bat |
693 |
240 & 242 |
9-11 May 2003 |
Won By An Inns & 6 Runs |
Trent Bridge |
Notts |
Bat |
393 |
211 & 176 |
1-2 Sep 1999 |
Won By 10 Wickets |
The Oval |
Notts |
Bat |
199 & 153-0 |
115 & 233 |
19-21 Aug 1998 |
Won By 7 Wickets |
Trent Bridge |
Surrey |
Field |
270 & 72-3 |
213 & 125 |
27-30 Jun 1997 |
Won By 131 Runs |
The Oval |
Surrey |
Bat |
201-9d & 123-6d |
73-1d & 120 |
22-26 Aug 1996 |
Match Drawn |
Trent Bridge |
Notts |
Bat |
128-4d & 53-0 |
446-9d & Forfeited |
20-24 Jul 1995 |
Won By 171 Runs |
Guildford |
Notts |
Field |
239 & 528-9d |
324 & 272 |
21-23 Jul 1994 |
Won By An Inns & 231 Runs |
Trent Bridge |
Notts |
Bat |
604-4d |
125 & 248 |
29-31 Jul 1993 |
Won By 3 Wickets |
The Oval |
Surrey |
Bat |
228 & 147-7 |
68 & 306 |
7-10 Sep 1992 |
Lost By 5 Wickets |
Trent Bridge |
Surrey |
Bat |
207 & 411 |
357 & 262-5 |
21-23 Jul 1992 |
Lost By 3 Wickets |
The Oval |
Notts |
Field |
333-4d & 219-7d |
201-2d & 352-7 |
4-6 Jun 1991 |
Match Drawn |
The Oval |
Notts |
Field |
302-3d & 221-1d |
250-2d & 33-1 |
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